Thursday, June 30, 2011

I Can See Italy From Here, After All !

Last night my husband and I went out to dinner to celebrate his Big Five-O. All the kids had commitments elsewhere, so I had him all to myself. I like it that way sometimes. Those green eyes meeting mine. The conversation uninterrupted by, "Dad. Guess what? Guess what?"

But hey, guess what?

We talked about Italy , and it's back on the map. Well, technically it never left the map, but it's back in our conversation. We had just bid the notion farewell for this August because of the cost to go then and also because it's the worst time to be in that country. And when we wrote it off, we entertained thoughts of a cruise instead, for half the cost. We also had people suggest places like Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and other points of interest with in our borders.

But, we concluded that we really DO want to see Italy more than go on a cruise and want to do it before we're truly old and decrepit. (He said this as he propped up his gout-ridden left toe beside me at the restaurant table.) We really do want to mark our 25th anniversary with it. We would rather take Joel on a tour out West and not connect it w/ our romantic getaway. Besides, hiking out West in August doesn't appeal to either of us. Hiking uphill doesn't either. That's work, not relaxation for us.

As it stands now, we are shooting for Italy in the best month to be there: April. We could probably get our older kids to watch Joel, it'll be after the stress of Ben's wedding in March,
and it will give us time to sock away a bit more cash for it.

So, I am very happy today. Makes me crave garlic, onions, and Roma tomatoes just thinking about it.

2 comments:

Kelly said...

I'm really excited for you guys! Delayed gratification has a sanctifiying effect, doesn't it? :)

Laurie said...

Planning for Italy with your love over a Big Birthday dinner is a great beginning!! Lovely!